


The Shape of a Love Song

by thepizzasitter



Series: How We Fit (Your Hands In Mine) Verse [9]
Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: Sword & Shield | Pokemon Sword & Shield Versions
Genre: Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Angst with a Happy Ending, Bottom Kibana | Raihan, Bottom Nezu | Piers, Communication, Control, Dom/sub Undertones, Drunkenness, Emotional Baggage, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Sex, Light BDSM, M/M, Mental Health Issues, Multi, Music, Past Sexual Abuse, Polyamory, Porn With Plot, Porn with Feelings, Praise Kink, References to Depression, Smut, Tenderness, Threesome - M/M/M, Top Dande | Leon, Top Kibana | Raihan, Trust, and of course the porn chapters between since that's how we roll in the Shire, and thus ends the initial groundwork for this series, and turn to the ones they will face together using what they have learned, we dive a little deeper into some of the last barriers our lads will face among themselves, we'll explore a little further into what happened with Rose
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-05
Updated: 2020-08-05
Packaged: 2021-03-06 00:21:03
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,610
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25724254
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thepizzasitter/pseuds/thepizzasitter
Summary: And then Piers laced their fingers together on the pick. Guided his other hand until he was making a chord. He had no idea which one, but when the singer ran his nose back and forth over the back of his neck, quietly let out a breath that warmed the skin there and brought their hands down to strum at the guitar, it felt like the most perfect note he’d ever heard.A handful of times, together. One that Piers let him try on his own, just to see.And then, eventually, his hands were raised and kissed before they were placed in his lap so that Piers could begin playing it himself. This, he thought. This is why people still write love songs.
Relationships: Dande | Leon/Kibana | Raihan, Dande | Leon/Kibana | Raihan/Nezu | Piers, Dande | Leon/Nezu | Piers, Kibana | Raihan/Nezu | Piers
Series: How We Fit (Your Hands In Mine) Verse [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1692952
Comments: 52
Kudos: 149





	1. Just Wait

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to the fic that has been giving me trouble for weeks in the midst of a cross country move and a myriad of other things! We're drawing in on the last of the fics that will have the lads dealing with relational conflict among themselves and soon we're going to be begin exploring how they use what they've learned and the strength of their relationship when faced with some external events and the closure they're needing. I'm deeply looking forward to that (and the myriad of kink and smut fics that will go between!)
> 
> Please note that we go a little deeper into some of Piers' issues, especially where Rose is concerned as we began to explore more of that in the last fic. This story will draw on a lot of the past parts, so be sure to read those first if you haven't already!
> 
> The smut in this fic was inspired by Asta's art (what else is new?) and hhhhhhhhhhh I am always in love with how they portray these characters so beautifully! You can find the one I'm talking about [here](https://twitter.com/Horny_Lemon7/status/1288719019328053250)! Thank you darling for always giving us such incredible art, and I hope this fic finds you feeling better <3
> 
> I reference Jester's Chess in this, and the rules can be found [here](https://www.chessvariants.com/large.dir/contest/jester.html#:~:text=A%20Jester%20always%20assumes%20the,is%20not%20subject%20to%20check.). There's also a reference to some music theory in conjunction with personality type. It draws on the two interval charts found in this link [here](http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.577.9997&rep=rep1&type=pdf#:~:text=A%20musical%20interval%20is%20encountered,other%20\(Backus%2C%201969\).) if you want to go take a look at what I chose for our lads.
> 
> The music I listened to was [Hold Of Me](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-YhAqGApnM), [Don't Hold Me](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWg-PHh44ZY), and [Waves](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vfvRXoZave0) all by Dean Lewis. If you've read any of my other fics, you'll know I love to sing covers and make other ambient type content for my fics. In this case, I covered that third song, Waves. It can be found [here](https://soundcloud.com/user-500586804/waves-cover/s-FqkWpmqipgX). I have a much larger cover set than what I've posted here on AO3, so if anyone is interested in that list, I am happy to send it your way!
> 
> I'm also always down to meet new people on Twitter! Come shout at me either on my main/cosplay account (shyloren) or my Pokemon side account (CryptidPiers). Hope you enjoy the fic!

Raihan waited for Leon to come back out of the store, leaning against the brick and staring out over the vibrancy of the shopping district lit up in the evening light.

It took longer than he expected, but eventually the bell jingled and he looked over as Leon came over to stand beside him. His heart ached at the sight of downcast eyes and defeated posture.

“It’s not your fault,” he said, pulling Leon into his arms and kissing his forehead gently, squeezing his eyes shut when the breath his lover took in was a watery one.

“It’s no one’s fault,” he replied, voice automatic in the way it had once been whenever he couldn’t muster enough energy to play the Champion. It never failed to break Raihan’s heart then, and though it made fewer and fewer appearances now that Leon was free from his title, that only served to make it more potent. “He was uncomfortable, he communicated that to me, and I took the steps to fix it. Nothing more to be done about it.”

“You’re allowed to be upset, Lee.” Arceus knew it had been one of their primary sources of conflict when they had first gotten together.

“What right do I have to be?” Leon burst out, pulling back to hurriedly dash the tears from his eyes, hyper aware of people around them growing concerned. Raihan tucked his lover’s arm into his and started them in the direction of home, neither of them wanting to be out a moment longer than they had to be. He knew Leon wouldn’t be able to take it if the gossip rags started going on about a non-existent breakup because he had forgotten himself in public.

The dragon trainer was quiet for a long while, letting Leon lean against his arm as they walked until they were out of the busy streets and in a quieter part of town.

“Did you know I tried to buy him that same guitar a few years ago?”

Leon suddenly stopped, both of them coming to a halt as he looked up at Raihan with wide eyes.

“What?”

Raihan nodded, kicking idly at a loose piece of cobblestone. “Felt like déjà vu, seeing you walk in with that.”

“He looks at it every time we pass by! I thought…”

So had he.

“You weren’t wrong. He’s wanted it forever, but he won’t buy it for himself until his old one collapses. Won’t let me get it for him because his works ‘perfectly fine’ even though it’s not in the best condition anymore. I even tried to spin it as work expenses for his music, but of course he saw right through it.”

He let Leon consider that as he gathered him close, hand stroking through the other’s soft hair. “Not just that, either. One time, I bought him some designer clothes I thought he’d look good in. Didn’t think anything of it, just saw them while I was doing some shopping of my own and wanted to see how pretty he would be in them. He modeled them for me, but he didn’t take the tags off. Found out later he returned them and gave the money to the Pokémon Center in Spikemuth because they were having trouble keeping the lights on that month.”

Leon made a wounded noise into his chest and Raihan couldn’t help but agree. It hadn’t been his proudest moment, but Piers hadn’t backed down. He’d stood there and let Raihan yell about things that didn’t matter and then forgiven him anyways because Piers knew he was in the right. Raihan had later asked if it would be okay to donate to some of the projects Piers helped support.

He’d accepted immediately. But he never let Raihan buy something just for him. Not if it wasn’t something he could afford on his own. He was reminded of that every time they passed the music store.

“Then…that case in the back of your office is…?”

Ah, this brilliant lover of his.

“Yeah,” he said softly. “Never quite gave up hope. He comes from a whole different world than us, mate. He has literally starved himself to make sure Marnie had enough to eat. Almost every bit of his income went to either making sure she had what she needed and wanted or to the gym and his city. He spent nearly two decades living with too little. And Rose…he…knew that. _Used_ that. Those sorts of scars don’t just disappear. But it doesn’t change the fact that you’re allowed to feel hurt by the results of that scarring. You love giving people things, we both do. There’s something satisfying about being able to provide for the people you love, or to show you think about what they like even when they aren’t around.”

A small smile crept onto Leon’s face in agreement. And there were few as worthy as Piers.

“You care for him so well,” Raihan said, pulling the other into his arms and kissing him deeply. “And for me.” Leon melted into it, wrapping his arms around the dragon trainer’s waist and holding him tightly.

“Love you,” he murmured, and Raihan kissed the top of his head.

“Not as much as I love you,” he returned, and Leon scrunched his nose at him before he was distracted by Raihan pulling him into step beside him.

The flat was dark when they walked in, both of them trying to be quiet in case Piers was already asleep, though it was hours earlier than he normally was able to rest. They shushed each other, giggling and trying to trip the other up until…

Raihan took in a sharp breath and Leon quickly looked past him to see what had caught his attention.

Piers sat at the kitchen island, a nearly empty bottle beside him and staring off into somewhere Raihan immediately wanted to protect him from. He brought the glass to his lips and swallowed back the last of its contents before he suddenly noticed he was being watched.

“Raihan?” He asked, voice slurred and unsteady, and he made an aborted attempt to stand before he sat back down with a huff. The bottle teetered dangerously. “Rai I did…did a very bad thing. The guitar, I didn’t…I couldn’t, and I made—made…fuck can’t talk good—made the Pirn…the Princ…made Lee sad. Fucked up, m’sorry, m’fucked up and ruin ev’rythin’, please don’t...don’t hate me Rai, okay? Shite, think m’drunk.”

Raihan glanced back at Leon, who was staring at Piers like he had never seen him before.

It wasn’t so terribly inaccurate, he supposed. Leon had never seen this before. Hell, _Raihan_ never saw this anymore. Piers was amazing at dealing with his issues head-on, at making sure they didn’t spill over onto others, at keeping a tight schedule of therapy and medication, and in making sure he avoided as many unhealthy coping mechanisms as possible.

But even Piers had his limits, and it looked like they had found one of them.

His stomach turned to think of how long they’d been gone. Piers had likely been sitting there, waiting for them to come back, and it had been hours.

He stepped forward and gathered the singer up, pushing the bottle away before he carried him over to the sofa. “Could never hate you, sweetheart,” he murmured, watching as Leon took a half step towards them before he made a choked sound in the back of his throat.

“Piers?” So uncertain. Raihan tightened his grip around the other when his head shot up and he realized Leon was in the room. The horror and anguish on his face was devastating.

“Lee,” Piers said shakily, curling into Raihan’s hold like maybe Leon wouldn’t see him if he could make himself small enough.

Leon’s eyes widened and he started to back away quickly, and Raihan was just fast enough to stop Piers from pushing away and scrambling to his feet.

“No! No, please, don’t leave, I’m sorry! Rai, let go, he’s leavin’! I’m sorry, I’m sorry, don’t go—I—I didn’t mean to, I promise I’ll do better next time, don’t leave Raihan because m’fucked up, please! I’ll go and you won’t have to see me anymore, okay? Please, Leon!”

“Piers, you’re working yourself up. No one is leaving,” Raihan said calmly, though he felt anything but. Fuck, he shouldn’t have left Piers alone. It had just been so long since Piers had a breakdown like this, and he had thought it would be Leon that needed him tonight.

“He’s—"

“I—I don’t—” Leon looked utterly lost, and Piers tried again to leave his arms. He refused to be moved, unwilling to subject Leon to what would follow.

_Piers kneeled in front of him, fingers clutching at his clothing in a desperate bid to keep Raihan there and tears streaming down his face._

_None of the confidence, none of the gentle command he wielded so easily now._

_“You can hit me if you want, just please don’t leave!”_

“C’mere, Lee, come sit with us,” Raihan said, blinking back tears of his own. He was immensely grateful when Leon didn’t hesitate, didn’t ask if he was sure. He practically ran to them and Raihan finally let Piers go to allow him to clamber into Leon’s lap, clinging tightly to him, apologizing over and over.

“Piers, I don’t understand, what happened?” Leon pleaded, looking to Raihan for answers when Piers gave none of his own.

“Used to happen a lot more, the first year we were together,” Raihan said, voice low. “Almost left because I didn’t know how to deal with anything and he wasn’t in therapy yet to learn how to cope. He had a string of shite exes after…after everything with…but I guess he expected me to be the same. Got confused when I wouldn’t yell or hit him.” Leon took in a sharp breath. “Or when I wanted to just hang out and not always have sex when we’d see each other. Took a long time before we were able to start sorting through everything. It was nearly a year before you joined us that he last had a meltdown.”

“Was it—is this because of—”

“No,” Raihan said firmly. “This is not your fault. This is purely Piers’ baggage that he’s been dealing with for a long time. Could have just as easily been me, or one of our friends, or seemingly nothing at all.”

“Not your fault, s’my fault,” Piers mumbled from where his face was pressed against Leon’s chest.

“You didn’t do anything wrong,” Leon said helplessly, and Raihan smiled softly at him.

“Can’t argue with him when he’s drunk. Let’s get him to bed and we’ll be able to talk in the morning. He’s gonna hate himself a bit for you seeing this, but he’ll be okay.”

“Okay,” Leon whispered, looking down and watching Piers play with the lilac strands of hair near his face while tears still fell silently down his cheeks. “Piers, can I carry you?”

“Should clean up first. M’gonna need to clean up first, yeah. Don’t want anyone to be mad,” was the singer’s slurred reply and Leon watched Raihan’s hand clench into a fist and squeeze his eyes shut, a wounded sound leaving his throat.

“Pick him up, Lee,” he said roughly, knowing his voice was more pained than he’d normally allow Leon to hear, but it was alright. Trust went two ways.

Leon gathered Piers up and followed Raihan up the stairs to their room, sitting Piers on the bed and bending down to help him out of his shoes. He’d likely put them on hoping his therapist would be available for an emergency session.

“We’re going to take off your clothes so you can sleep, is that okay?” Leon asked and Piers gave a lazy smile that didn’t reach his eyes.

“You gonna fuck me, Champ?”

Leon froze before he shook his head.

“No.” Nothing else, and Raihan could have kissed him. “But I’d like bit of a cuddle, if that’s alright?” Oh, he was _definitely_ going to kiss him as soon as Piers passed out.

The singer looked between them warily before he shrugged and let them do what they would, swaying a little from his perch on the bed. They got themselves undressed, helping Piers when he struggled to yank his tank top off.

Raihan kissed his neck softly, moving down to press his lips over the heart that had always called to his own. The look of confusion overlaying the deep sadness that Piers wouldn’t ever be able to entirely escape never failed to shake him to the core each time he came face to face with the damage the world had done to someone so beloved to him.

It had been a long time since he’d hurt like this.

“I love you,” he murmured, bringing Piers close to him when they all got into bed. “The good days and the bad, it makes no difference when I get to keep holding you.”

He was acutely aware of the way Leon watched them, knew how quickly that incredible brain of his would start assimilating and making plans in case of future incidents. It felt…better than he expected, having someone they both loved seeing how hard they’d worked for this.

Leon came up behind Piers, slinging his arm over his waist, and pushing his face into the other’s hair.

“M’sorry,” Piers said again, already halfway to sleep, and Leon merely gripped him tighter.

“In the morning,” Leon said firmly. “When you’re sober enough to know that nothing like this could ever make me love you any less.”

Raihan watched as Piers’ shoulders slowly started to relax, felt when soft lips ran back and forth over his chest in bleary, drunken acknowledgement of the words, even if the understanding of them wouldn’t show up until the morning.

The moment Piers’ breaths evened out, Raihan’s mouth was on Leon’s, leaning over the singer and wishing the physical protection he offered in this position could be translated into the emotional.

At least there were two of them now, to keep the shadows at bay.

“You’re brilliant, have I told you that lately?” He gasped when they pulled apart.

Leon gave him a small, watery smile, clutching at his arm.

And fuck, did he understand. For all Piers lived in and loved chaos, he was still the steadiest, most reliable person in their world. To feel the foundations shake was never anything less than terrifying.

“What happens in the morning?”

He looked down at Piers, the worried furrow of his brow smoothed out in sleep, palm up and tipped towards him, always seeking out his and Leon’s presence nearby. He carefully laced their fingers together, mulling it over.

Before, they would have been apart, sleeping in different rooms or different flats altogether and far more angry at themselves than each other. Those early days had been rife with extremes like he’d never felt before. They’d hardly kept their hands off of each other, but it had come at a cost.

Especially when he’d found out that Piers had no idea he was serious about them.

Now, though, Raihan suddenly felt warm as he considered the question.

He hadn’t quite realized…

“Nothing,” he said, his heart soaring as he thought about it.

Those days were long past. Instead of their love being filled with highs and lows, it was what remained constant through _life’s_ highs and lows.

“Not anymore. Now, we talk and figure out what happened. Apologize and move on. I…I forget, sometimes, that we did that together. It’s so easy now, that I don’t think about when it wasn’t. We were absolute messes, and trying to make it work was an uphill battle. But I’m terrible at quitting. Had to be to keep battling you, after all.”

Leon snickered under his breath and kissed where Raihan and Piers’ hands were twined. Raihan swallowed hard, unsure if he’d crumble under the swell of love pulsing steadily in his chest.

“Is it odd that I remember when that happened?” Leon asked, voice low. “I thought it was going to be over, that at some point I was going to have to watch you break down over someone else when all I wanted was to be with you. I felt so guilty hoping that maybe you’d start looking at me, if Piers didn’t have your attention.”

He smiled wistfully, and Raihan leaned their foreheads together.

“And then that day never came. I’m constantly grateful that it didn’t,” Leon whispered. “How foolish I was then, thinking that wasn’t the best thing that ever happened to me. We’d have never made it here. I can’t imagine…” He shivered, reaching up to cradle the dragon trainer’s face in his hands.

“Me neither,” Raihan said softly.

The thought was anathema to him.

“Do you think he’ll…ever tell me?” Leon asked, eyes on Piers’ sleeping face, biting his lip. “About what happened between him and Rose?” Raihan stroked his free hand through the other’s hair, brushing a thumb over Leon’s cheek.

“Yeah, I think he will. He just…” Leon’s eyes were so beautiful, always had been. They hid nothing, and it never failed to please him when there was none of the self-doubt and hesitation that had followed him around. Every day since their return from the Isle had seen Leon grow more and more confident in his place with them, in the way he fit within their arms.

He had a feeling Piers had been waiting for that.

“It’s gonna hurt,” he said quietly, and Leon was silent for a long while. “A lot. He can’t stand the thought of it. Hurting you.”

“I…it’s not that I…” He paused. Set his jaw. “I have my guesses. I’ve been trying to make peace with as many possibilities as I can, but I know odds better than most. I know what the likeliest scenarios are, and…”

Raihan waited, but he said nothing more, opting to lean his head onto the other’s shoulder.

“Piers understands the complexity of what you’ll be dealing with better than anyone. Let him help you through it, when it’s time.”

Leon looked up, surprised. “Oughtn’t it be the other way around? Why should he have to dance around my feelings when he’s the one who bore the brunt of things?”

Raihan chucked under his breath, shifting to lie more fully under the covers, beckoning Leon to do the same. “Piers? Not plowing right through an issue? I’ll believe it when I see it.”

“But—”

“Lee, trust me on this one. There’s nothing that messes with his sense of control and balance quite like what happened. He’s going to need to feel the reassurance that he can still give you what you need. And he will. There is literally no one more able to do so than him, not in this. It’s gonna be _my_ job to help with what he needs. And I know both of you will have my back.”

Leon smiled softly. “I love when you talk about us like that.”

“As a team?” He grinned when Leon nodded. “It’s what we are, isn’t it?”

Leon leaned in for a kiss, the gentle give and take of it soothing the last of Raihan’s worries. He pulled away, snickering when Leon yawned sleepily.

“And a tired team at that. Sleep, Dandelion, we can talk more in the morning.” Things were going to be alright, he could feel it.

“Love you,” Leon whispered, tucking his face into the crook of Piers’ neck, reaching out to hold Raihan’s hand.

“Love you too, Lee.”


	2. Wait A Moment More

There was nothing quite like waking up to Piers lying on top of him, running his fingers along his brows, over the bridge of his nose, the curve of his lips.

He wanted to stay like this, right here, as long as he could.

“Mornin’, Princess,” Piers said, and Leon hummed happily, shifting to spread his legs and let the singer settle in closer to him. His cock was half hard from a vaguely remembered dream in the night, and Piers’ weight against him had him content and restless all at once. “Hm, like that, is it?”

Leon tipped his head back, sighing as Piers kissed his neck, rocking them together slowly. “Don’t wanna come,” he mumbled, basking in the feeling of sleep warm skin. “Have to get up for work soon.”

“Just feels good?”

“Yeah,” he breathed, mouth parted when Piers bit lightly. “Rai home?”

“He’s right there in the doorway,” Piers said, and Leon finally cracked open his eyes to see Raihan smiling softly at them, leaning against the doorframe. Leon reached a hand out and Raihan laughed, shaking his head fondly.

“Not if you’re not planning on being late. You two have no idea how you look together, I swear. I have to get to work, too. You wanna share a taxi?”

Leon groaned, but nodded. It was always nice getting to spend the last moments before work leaning against Raihan in the cab. Unfortunately, it meant he’d have to leave the bed and Piers’ arms.

The singer stilled before he leaned up to stretch and roll his shoulders. Leon’s hips stuttered up for a moment, chasing the feeling a second longer before he let the thought go until he could revisit it tonight. “We gonna talk later tonight, then?”

“Yeah,” Raihan said, and Piers ran a hand through his own hair. “You alright with that?”

“Always.”

Leon watched as Raihan came over to capture Piers’ mouth with his own. When they parted, Piers dragged him back down again, and Leon giggled at the way Raihan’s cheeks darkened.

“I hate that you don’t get hangovers,” he grumbled when Piers let him go with a last bite to his bottom lip. “It’s not fair.”

“Lightweight,” Piers teased, climbing off of Leon to start grabbing his own clothes. His shoulders were relaxed, no sign of the distress from the night before, and Leon felt his own anxiousness ease in response.

And ah, there was his sign.

“C’mon, Lee, need those pretty arms before you go. I could use some help gettin’ the bigger amp downstairs. The lads are gonna come pick it up so we can finish settin’ up for the show this weekend.”

He weakly flexed in their direction, making them both laugh before he smiled at them and rolled out of bed.

He watched Piers as they went about getting ready, patiently waiting.

No one knew a façade better than he did.

Not even Piers.

And there, just as he turned away from Leon to look at Raihan, were the remnants of the night before. Sheltered like a broken bone against his chest, kept away from Leon where it couldn’t hurt him. A jester mask of smiles and morning banter to hide how deeply last night had affected him.

An understanding had begun to take root in the back of his mind.

He thought about lying out on the pitch, about the exhaustion and the weariness and how his chest had hurt from loneliness and a schedule that isolated him from the people he loved.

Months and months and months had passed since then, but his was not a brain that could easily forget.

His thoughts always wanted to stray to the inevitable conclusion of those memories. Two beloved voices, asking him to stay. Hands and lips and bodies and heat.

Everything that had ever followed.

But right now, his attention was drawn to just before. Right between an invitation to their home and an invitation to their hearts.

 _“You talked to Rose about it?_ You _?”_

_“Yeah, and I traded a favor for it, so you’d better fuckin’ find some street clothes and get your arse in gear before we’re late for the reservation.”_

The exchange meant something very, very different now.

A thousand other memories vied for attention. Ones he had assumed held no deeper truth, because they had already been viewed in the light.

Now, he knew better. They all did.

 _“I think I’ve figured it out.”_ Raihan had said. “ _Truth comes out in the dark.”_

 _How long?_ He thought, the weight of realization settling into his bones as he looked at Piers.

_How long did you stand between me and Rose? How often did the jester protect the knight, with only counter moves in the Chairman’s ongoing game of chess? Nothing to use but your body. A voice, a guitar, and a microphone._

When the taxi arrived, he was still thinking. Would keep doing so for the rest of the day as he pieced together what had been missing before.

He took up Raihan’s hand in his as the Corviknight began its ascent towards the sky.

“Rai, I think…I need to make a detour first.”

“Gonna get us nice and lost so we don’t have to go to work?” Raihan teased, glancing up from his phone before he suddenly saw the determination on his lover’s face.

“Lee?”

“No,” Leon breathed, his heart finally feeling like it understood. “No, I think for once I know exactly where we need to go.”

/////

Everything felt overly warm, and he could feel the sweat trickle down the back of his neck. The guitar felt wrong in his hands, even when he had tried to jokingly pose with it in front of the mirror.

Imagining it with Piers though…

Sleek and bright, with the kind of color scheme that screamed as easily as its strings could. It belonged in the singer’s hands, just as his and Raihan’s hearts did.

This time, he was going to do this properly.

The door clicked open and he turned quickly, freezing when Piers came in looking exhausted, the quietly sad expression on his face blanking over for a moment when he caught sight of Leon, before his eyes darted down to the instrument in his hands.

Leon swallowed at the longing that flashed through before that too gave way to something tired.

 _No, let me see that again_ , he begged in his mind. _I promise I can handle it. Like you always have for me. Let it be my body and my sword that stands between you and everything else this time._

“Leon…”

He lowered himself to his knees, the guitar resting across them, looking up at the surprise on the singer’s face that he couldn’t quite hide.

_Please let me, please let me, please let me…_

He waited there a long while before Piers came over to him, careful not to touch the guitar, and ran a hand through Leon’s hair.

“You know I’m going to ask that you take it back.”

“No,” Leon said immediately, gritting his teeth when the hand stopped moving. There was nothing in the world he feared more than disappointing Piers, but…

“If you don’t want it, that’s alright. I’ll keep it. Will you sign it for me? I could hang it up in my office at the Battle Tower.”

Piers was silent.

“It doesn’t…” He paused, fighting against the urge to push his face against Piers’ stomach like it was a hat he could hide behind. Steady on. “Does it have to mean something?” He could hear the plea in his own voice.

“If it didn’t mean somethin’, you wouldn’t be this determined, and I wouldn’t be…” He took in a shuddering breath and drew Leon up with him. “Come sit with me, yeah?”

He stood immediately, carrying the guitar with them. Piers gave him a small smile.

“Hm, shame you don’t play, it looks good on you.”

Leon burst out laughing and shook his head. “Come off it, we both know this suits me about as well as a three-piece suit does for you. _Looks_ great, feels wrong.”

“I think it’s the way you’re holdin’ it that I like,” Piers said quietly, and Leon took in a sharp breath. Piers’ gaze was on the instrument, something like reverence written over his face.

His eyes were softer than Leon had expected.

“Lightly. Like you don’t own it. Like it…doesn’t owe you anythin’.”

Leon’s heart raced and he carefully laid the guitar down before sitting on the sofa. His hands came up slowly, encircling Piers’ wrists carefully, drawing him in, until Piers bent to put a knee between his legs.

“Is that…why this has to mean something?”

Piers nodded, kissing the corner of his mouth.

They stayed like that, and Leon basked in the gentle touches to his face and neck, eased and soothed and emboldened by them.

“Please,” Leon murmured, placing Piers’ hands on his waist, looking into those eyes that could see through him so easily. “Let me give you this. I want to. So badly. I know that Ro—”

He froze, unsure of his footing.

“M’not quite ready yet,” Piers said, saving him from any further missteps. “To talk about it. Not most of it, anyways. But you know how Rose was with money. How he wielded it.”

He jolted at the name and looked up fearfully when he realized he had.

“It’s not—”

“Lee, I know, don’t worry,” Piers said simply, kissing his forehead. “You were surprised at me sayin’ his name at all in this context, nothin’ more.”

He nodded silently, running a hand through black and white hair.

“You can imagine how that applied to our situation. And I know it’s not the same. You and Raihan are the very last people to make demands, to expect anythin' at all in return for what you give. Doesn’t make it any easier not to remember a time when that guitar would have cost me everythin’.”

They lapsed into silence, each lost in a space that had always walked along parallel lines.

_You did this alone for so long. What if you didn’t have to anymore?_

“What if…” Leon took a deep breath. “Would you be willing to try something with me?”

Piers cocked his head, a hint of a frown before he finally nodded.

Leon shifted him off of his lap, retrieving the guitar and a pick. He came back and sat at the edge of the seat so that Piers could lean against his back and look over his shoulder.

His body between Piers and the guitar.

He tried to ignore the way new things like this made his heart race and his palms sweat. He didn’t need to be perfect at this, didn’t even need to be good. In fact, everything relied on that right now. He closed his eyes and leaned back against Piers’ chest.

 _Nothing to win here. Nothing to lose here,_ he reminded himself.

“Help me play it?” He requested quietly, and he heard the singer take in a shuddery breath.

There was a chance Piers would tell him no. Would tell him to let it go, leave it be, and the guitar would disappear into his office until he was brave enough to try again someday.

That would be alright.

Seconds passed. And more and more.

And then Piers laced their fingers together on the pick. Guided his other hand until he was making a chord. He had no idea which one, but when Piers ran his nose back and forth over the back of his neck, quietly let out a breath that warmed the skin there and brought their hands down to strum at the guitar, it felt like the most perfect note he’d ever heard.

A handful of times, together. One that Piers let go to allow him a try on his own, just to see.

And then, eventually, his hands were raised and kissed over his shoulders before they were placed in his lap so that Piers could begin playing it himself, still wrapped around Leon.

 _Yes, like this. This is why it was meant to be in your hands. Why we were meant to be in your hands,_ Leon thought, feeling as Piers began humming along with his playing, until he was singing softly in Leon’s ear.

_Don't hold me, 'cause I am fallin’ back down  
And I wouldn't wanna see you  
Hit the ground_

_Little darlin’, you found my heart in the lost and found  
But the scars they still follow me around_

The longer they sat, the more confident Piers grew in the way he played. He kissed along Leon’s shoulders between lyrics, not needing to see to know where his fingers needed to move next.

Leon felt his entire existence glow at the small smile he felt against his jaw as the other moved from song to song, enjoying the feeling of a guitar that didn’t have the myriad of problems his old one did.

He was stunning like this, the brightest light of Spikemuth here in the home the three of them had made, his music unknowingly enticing anyone who would listen to come exist under the neon signs, to learn how safe they would be there.

_Let us do the same for you. Let Raihan and I give you what you never hesitate to give us._

He very nearly asked for one more song when Piers trailed off. But Piers didn’t do encores.

“Leon,” Piers said, voice quiet, when he finally lowered the instrument. “Call Raihan for me, will you?”

“Of course,” he replied, confused but excited for Raihan to see the results of what they’d talked about.

Rotom flew up into the air to capture them both at once, and Leon felt his heart pound when Piers quietly linked their hands together. Would he ever grow used to that? To the way they so willingly showed their love to him?

He rather hoped he never did.

“Hi, Lee! How’s every—”

He held his breath.

Raihan’s sharp eyes missed nothing, and they darted from the guitar to Leon to Piers’ face.

“Oh,” he whispered. “Oh, Leon, did he—"

“Rai,” Piers said, and Leon watched Raihan have the same reaction to the emotion in his voice as he did. “I’m…” He paused, swallowing hard. “I need you to do somethin’ for me.”

“Anything,” Raihan promised immediately, and Piers dropped his head into his hands for a while.

“I need you to pick out a case for it.”

The smile that lit up Raihan’s face was so beautiful that Leon leaned closer to the phone unthinkingly.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah…” Piers said. “Just, m’tryin’ not to lose it right now. So, somethin’ simple that still gets the job done, alright?”

“Of course. Piers, fuck, I’m coming home right now.”

“But—”

“Right. Now. I’ll see you soon. I love you both so much.”


	3. While I Catch My Breath

Piers stared at the case and the bags Raihan had leaned just to the side of the door before he’d made a beeline for Leon, his laughter loud and familiar in their flat as he tackled the other to the floor, the two of them talking over each other and getting virtually nothing out in the wake of the kisses Raihan was raining down on Leon’s face.

He walked over slowly, reaching out to let his fingers just graze the butter soft texture of the shell. At first glance, it was a simple, sturdy black case.

Only, when he turned it carefully, there was an iridescence to it that matched the way the lights of Spikemuth glowed in the night. Its seams alternated a subtle pink and white, tiny details that were so quiet to anyone else and yet shouted at him with the intentionality that had gone into the creation of this.

His name was crafted into the handle.

He sank to his knees, feeling like he couldn’t quite breathe.

This hadn’t been picked out today. Hadn’t been premade and chosen from a selection on the shelves.

He had a feeling that when he put the guitar into it, it would fit perfectly despite the instrument’s odd, spiked shape. No modifications needed.

He hardly dared to look in the bags, but he could see an image of a microphone, one he had coveted and could never hope to afford without guilt following him like a Yamper for months afterwards. And that was just the topmost box.

“How long?” He voice shook.

Raihan joined him on the ground, wrapping his arms around him from behind, the beat of his heart against Piers’ back a comfort he desperately needed. He turned to press his face against Raihan’s chest, the smell of the soap he favored the only thing keeping him grounded at the moment.

“Since I first tried to bring the guitar home.”

He didn’t make a sound, but the tears were already falling, blurring into the fabric of the other’s shirt.

Leon’s warmth joined them, lined along his back until he was held securely between them.

He didn’t know how long they stayed there, like that.

It didn’t particularly matter.

“Take me upstairs,” he whispered hoarsely, keeping his eyes closed when his face was tilted up for a gentle kiss. He tugged Raihan’s headband down around his neck, pushing his hands into the thick locs that spilled around his cheekbones.

Raihan picked him up, Leon’s hands aiding him, and none of them made a sound as they made their way to their room. He felt shivery already, like he might claw his way into his own bones if he didn’t have them skin to skin against him soon.

He wasn’t entirely certain if he even wanted sex. Didn’t know if it was a wise idea to risk memories too closely associated with what gifts had cost him in the past.

_“Hurt me,” he begged, like he wanted it. At least then it would feel like all of the other things he’d been ‘given’. His gym, his stage, his ongoing custody of Marnie, his city had all come with pain of the physical kind. The kind he could learn to withstand and even enjoy. Pain had been easy to take back from Rose._

_“No, I don’t think I will.”_

_His protection of Leon, however, had been a very different thing altogether._

_“Let me,” Rose said instead, and when Piers had come for the first time since they’d started this hideous farce, he decided there were infinitely worse things than pain. Pleasure had been far more difficult to reclaim. And sometimes, like now, he still found places he had yet to make it his own again._

“Piers,” Raihan said sharply, and he jolted, realizing he had been placed on the bed and his hair was unbound and loose around his shoulders. Leon had worked off his shoes and clothes as he had yesterday, only this time there was no drunkenness to use as a shield between him and needing to be cared for.

He didn’t know what he needed, he realized, his entire existence rebelling against the thought.

He did, he _did_ , he would figure it out, could keep control, could make sure he—

He saw the look on Raihan’s face and something in him suddenly stilled, as it always did when he saw the recognition and understanding in those intense, mesmerizing eyes.

He didn’t need to figure anything out. To run things or even speak if he didn’t want to.

It was a rare day when that didn’t feel like something to fight.

_He knows what I need_ , he thought, a mantra he could always cling to and know to be true. _He knows what I need, he knows what I need, he knows, he knows, he knows he knows he knows—_

“Lay back,” Raihan said quietly. “Let us take care of you.”

Leon’s eyes were intent on him, and he kept his own on the reassurance in them when he obeyed and laid himself down.

“Lee, c’mere.”

He felt less and less likely to fly apart as he watched them undress each other, saw how Raihan’s beloved face would still darken in a blush whenever Leon fixed his attention on him. Leon was no better off, looking at Raihan like he wanted to sink under his skin and never leave.

And then they both turned to him and…

He couldn’t look at them, not straight on.

_Why do you look at me like that?_ He thought, not for the first time, though it was the first time in a long while. _What is it you see? I wish I knew so I could just keep doing that and nothing else._

When Raihan slowly pushed Leon down onto the bed, it was to settle over Piers, every part of him pressed up close and eager to be the home the Piers dwelled in, the blanket that kept the chill far away.

He buried his face against Leon’s chest and wrapped his arms tightly around his back, a choked sound escaping him when Raihan took one of his hands to grip in his own and ran the other through his hair.

He didn’t realize he had been shaking until the tremors began to die down under the weight and heat of their bodies.

They laid there together, existing in a quiet place. A tower, dark and silent and perfect, just before a yell might give that darkness something to do.

And then, Piers shifted just a bit, and his cock brushed along Leon’s, his lover responding with a low rumble of pleasure.

He bit his lip, moving away from his chest to look at the warm regard Leon had fixed on him, the way he looked at Piers with something soft and willing in his eyes.

He tentatively moved under Leon again, testing himself to see if this was what he wanted. His lips parted on a sigh when his lover made a sound of encouragement, kissing the side of his head.

“Raihan.”

“Yeah, stay just like that, Lee.”

Piers felt a hot flush creep up his neck. They were going to make him set the pace, to tell them one way or another how he most needed to be loved right now. Even if it changed. Even if he had no idea and didn’t quite know what to do with that.

In control and out of it, all at once.

He started a slow grind up against Leon, leaned his head into the way Raihan closed his fingers into his hair and squeezed to just this side of a pull.

“Lee, trade places with me and get me open, would you, sweetheart?”

Leon leaned away, running the back of his hand along Piers’ cheek before he groaned and drew himself up, tilting his head for a kiss from Raihan.

When the dragon trainer leaned over him, pressing him down and covering his body with his own…

_Keep me here_ , he thought. _I’m liable to flee right now, even if it’s the last thing I want._

“Hi,” Raihan breathed softly when he brought their noses together and rubbed lightly. The familiarity of the moment had Piers fighting back tears. “Fancy seeing you here.”

He let out a watery laugh, heart overflowing at the ease with which Raihan could make him laugh, even like this. Piers watched Leon watch them as he coated his fingers, something like wonder on his face.

“Did you _ever_ pull someone with those lines?”

Raihan grinned and kissed along Piers’ neck.

“Do I or do I not have the two hottest men in all Galar naked in my bed with me right now?”

His breath hitched when Leon slipped a finger into him, and Piers felt his own quicken in response to the way Leon gripped tighter at Raihan’s hip.

“Thank you for making my point, Lee,” he moaned quietly, and Piers ran his hands over the shaved part of Raihan’s hair, the soft tickle of it soothing on his palms.

Raihan reached to the side to retrieve the slick and hand it to Piers, leaning up until he was on hands and knees hovering over the singer.

“Leon,” he said, not looking away from Piers. “I want you to open me up like you would for Piers if he were in your hands right now.”

A sharp breath, one he didn’t realize came from his own chest for a moment.

“And Piers,” Raihan said, the command and power of Kings in his voice. “You’re going to follow his lead.”

He took Piers’ fingers and let the slick trickle onto them before guiding them down between his legs.

“What he does, you do for yourself. I’ll know what it is he’s wanting, know what it should feel like, so don’t think I won’t correct you if you choose to try to do this on your own.”

He felt frozen for a moment, before Leon fixed his eyes on him, his wrist flexing just past his view. He couldn’t see, wouldn’t be able to tell how much pressure or what pace besides—

He paused for a moment, searching Leon’s beloved face.

It was all there for him, as it always was. Everything he needed to know was in those eyes, in the set of his jaw and the curve of his mouth.

_Lightly_ , he thought suddenly, because Leon listened like few ever had. _Like he doesn’t own me. Like I don’t owe him anything for what they gave me earlier. Like this was just any other day._

He slipped two fingers into himself, and Raihan leaned down to kiss him as it drove a keen from his throat when he mimicked the slow, loving pace that he knew Leon was currently playing out inside Raihan from how his beloved jolted and dripped against his stomach.

They stayed like that, Raihan taking every bit of breath he tried to keep, no room for anything but the echo and reverb of Leon’s careful preparation, found in the way he threw his head back and fucked his fingers deeper into himself. Even slower yet, but harder.

On and on, until he was looking only at Raihan’s face to know what was needed. The way his eyelids fluttered or his tongue darted out to taste Piers on his lips between kisses. The little sounds spilling from him that Piers couldn’t help but match because even though it was his own fingers inside himself, it was all Leon in the way it made him feel.

“Good, Lee,” Raihan murmured, and the flush of pleasure at the praise on Leon’s face was a sight to behold. “Lay down for me, love.”

He did as he was told, his cock hard and dripping as he crawled over to lay beside Piers, sliding a hand along Piers’ jaw to pull him in for a quick kiss.

“Piers, come down to the end of the bed for a moment.”

Everything was slow and a little quieter than before when he did, his focus only on the way Raihan straddled Leon, whispering praise into his ear as he took Leon’s cock up in his hand and guided it inside him. He sunk down while Leon trembled under him, breathing deep as he took the entirety of it.

“Fuck, Rai,” Leon whimpered, fisting a hand in the sheet under him.

“Oh, that’s—ah! Stay still, sweetheart, can you keep still for me?”

“Yeah,” he panted, nodding and biting his lip.

Raihan leaned back, teeth gritted at the constant pressure against his prostate as he laid down, taking in deep breaths to keep ahold of himself.

His forehead eventually smoothed out, and Piers swallowed hard when he reached out to the singer, taking his hand and kissing the palm of it.

“On me,” he said, and Piers felt far, far too exposed when he realized why Raihan hadn’t given himself any leverage to move.

“Raihan…”

“Unless you safeword, I’m still the one in charge,” Raihan said, voice gentle, but unyielding.

Piers’ heart was thundering hard enough he was certain they could hear it.

“Piers.” So soft, for all it felt like the hardest thing in the world to listen to. “Trust me, yeah? There is nothing you have to give up, nothing here that you haven’t already given us over and over again. If it ever cost anything, it was never something you hadn’t already paid in full.”

He nodded, Raihan’s voice everything he needed to keep him grounded. _Just like_ _any other day,_ he reminded himself. _This is just an extension of all the other ways I trust them. All the other times I have given them control. This is nothing compared to that, because they have already proven themselves over and over._

_I am safe here._

When he sank down, none of them managed to keep quiet.

Leon’s wordless cry was overlaid with Raihan’s moan of his name and the sound of his cock filling Piers until he could make no sound but a handful of shaky little gasps as he was split open.

“Ah! Fuck, Rai—” He moaned when a hand wrapped loosely around his length and he couldn’t help but stutter up into the contact for a moment, moving them all and making Leon tip his head back with a whine.

“Just like that, babe.” Raihan stroked a hand down his thigh soothingly. “You’re gonna stay right there, as long as you need, and you’re going to take for yourself what you know we want to give you, if you would just let us. I can do this all night if I have to, it’s your choice if we come in fifteen minutes, an hour, or if we have to stay up until the sun rises.”

He let out a strangled sob and planted his hands to either side of Raihan’s head, needing to feel the way their bodies connected.

“You know me better than anyone. You know _us_ better than anyone,” Raihan continued as Piers started moving. “You always have, I’ve never known anyone who could look into me like you can. You’re feeling shaken, and it’s making you overthink. Come back to the very basics of us, just like a battle, or finding balance. Just like music.”

_Just like music_ , he thought, staring into Raihan’s eyes before he glanced back to Leon’s. _If we were chords, if I played us as intervals on the guitar waiting for me downstairs, what would I hear?_

That, he suddenly realized, was the easiest question in the world to answer.

For all he was a connoisseur of storms, Raihan’s love was the shelter in them, the steadiness placed in front of him against the wind and rain and lightning that liked to try and tell Piers the storm was all that existed. He was the shade against the sun that burned and the goggles against the grains of sand that tore at Piers’ skin, trying to slice its way through and whittle the angled cut of him into something smooth and too tired to fight back. A major sixth.

Leon was the gentle things inside as the storm blustered on past the door. The music played in another room, the grounding tradition of tea and biscuits and the comfort of a book you’d always wanted to read. The smell of a loved one’s cologne on a pillow. A peek of sunshine between the clouds and bouts of rain. A major third.

And the three of them…

Together, they were the world just after, when everything grew calm once more and there was joy to be found in seeing the ways the earth had changed after the elements had torn through. A conclusion and a beginning all at once, and the feeling of something more to come. A perfect fifth.

“There,” Raihan breathed, and Piers keened low in his throat when he found exactly how they fit together, frantically reaching for Leon’s hand as he used the other to hold Raihan’s face. “ _There_.”

“Ah!” He guided Leon’s hands to his thighs, let him spread them wider so he could take Raihan deeper. “Fuck, _fuck_ , please!”

Raihan pulled him down, slotting their mouths together as Piers tried and failed to keep the rhythm on his own. He couldn’t stop, needed to lose himself here between them, because he might owe them nothing, but he wanted to give them everything.

This was just the latest in a line of the things he took back, he decided. When he next found something that needed reclaiming, he would have no need to wonder in whose hands it belonged.

“Let us,” Raihan whispered, his face so close, so intimately pressed to his. The plea was soul deep, echoed and amplified by the feeling of Leon sitting up to hold him from behind, a kiss pressed to his shoulder along with the sound of his name.

It felt different than standing on a power spot in the middle of a pitch, victorious in the experience, and yet knowing he would likely never do it again.

This…

This was something he wanted to do over and over again.

“Yes,” he choked out, and brushed away the tears that had gathered in the corners of Raihan’s eyes. “Yeah, I…I think I can do that.”

_Fuck_ , but it felt so good to finally be able to say.

He jolted when Leon flopped back against the pillows, covering his face with his hands and yelling into them, making Raihan sit up hastily on his forearms and Piers’s spine crack in his hurry to twist around.

“Leon? Fuckin’ hell, are you alright?” Piers asked, eyes wide when Leon’s shoulders shook, before he realized the sound slipping through the other’s fingers was laughter. “Lee?”

“I’m sorry! I’m so sorry, it’s just…” He ran his hands down his face, his eyes bright with unshed tears and a smile to outshine the sun on his face. “I love you so much! I love you _both_ so, _so_ much!”

Raihan burst into laughter of his own, laying back down and putting a hand over his heart.

“Arceus, nearly gave me a heart attack! Never change, Dandelion, never change.”

It was infectious, the sound of their joy, and his voice joined theirs, half wheezed insults and fully formed endearments on his tongue, the last of his fears slinking off, unwelcome and unable to sustain themselves when faced with the ones he loved.

_This_ , he thought as he watched them both. _This is why people still write love songs._

/////

He slipped from the bed in the middle of the night, his body aching pleasantly and his heart unable to cease its wild beating though he’d been doing nothing but watching his lovers sleep for hours now.

Flygon picked up his head from where he was curled on the rug, sleepily ambling over for head scratches when he sat down with his journal.

He felt centered again, able to think around the spiraling thoughts that had been pulling him under. He carefully unwound them, as gentle as he could with them when all he wanted was to fling each one from him. They deserved his care as much as the ones he would replace them with.

He coiled them into the place where all the ropes went, where they could lie neat and tidy for a while until they inevitably tangled and snarled like headphone cords in his bag. And then he looked for the ones he wanted.

_Leon reaching behind himself to grip their bedframe, using the leverage to thrust up hard, sending them all into overdrive._

_Raihan’s hand around his cock as he let Leon’s movements fuel his own, driving up into Piers until he was nearly mindless with how good it felt._

_The three of them in tandem with each other, the rise and fall of their bodies a companion dance to the way they couldn’t stop the flood of their hearts from spilling over into words and words and words, poured into each other, a song of their own making. No tune or rhyme, just love._

_And then, after…_

_Cradled between them. Leon’s sweet, contented smile, his skin slick with sweat and a soft sigh on his tongue. Raihan’s kisses, his heart starting to slow as they caught their breath, a quiet thank-you written over Piers’ heart as Raihan traced his fingers over his pulse._

More and more thoughts. Ones that he’d had a thousand times before, and yet never failed to send him reeling with their strength.

_They love me. I am enough for them._

_I love them. More than I could ever think to hate myself._

_Ours is a love that shakes mountains and echoes in caverns. One that has withstood the test of every tower it has faced. A mutuality like none I’ve ever experienced._

He stared at the guitar in front of him for a long while.

He reached out, uncertain and hovering for a moment, stroked a hand down the neck of it, curling his fingers slowly around to bring it closer. It was a beautiful instrument. Somehow, it had never sold, and though he knew it was only the luck of the draw, it felt like it had been…waiting for him.

Or perhaps that was just because he was feeling grateful for the way Raihan and Leon waited for him, ever patient and willing to keep going, to keep trying, to keep listening and loving him long after the lights and mics had been turned off and his makeup, his voice, and his energy had given up for the night.

But for them, he realized…

He would always have one more song in him.

He bit his lip, strummed lightly over the strings and closed his eyes for a moment, turning that thought over in his head.

It felt good. Like it, too, had been waiting for him.

He reached out to put pen to paper, a title etched in ink at the top.

_Encore._


End file.
